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Posts tagged ‘Poppy’

The district is located to the North-East of Lashkar Gah district some 130 Km (three and half-hours drive) away. To the West is New zed district, to the East is Zamindawar district, in North is Baghran district and in South is Sangin district. According to the shura the district is divided into 5 clusters (Landi Nawa, Sharega, Kunjeck Nawa, Khuja and Nedaam Nawa). The district has a total of 220 villages (20 large, 200 small villages). Musa Qala River flows into the district from its Northwest. Kanjeck Nawa is the main village and also the seat of the government departments. Temperature reaches 30C in summer and winters are very chilly.

Ethnical Data: 100% Pashtuns (Alizai Tribe which is a section within Group of Pashtun tribes are in good majority & have strong hold in the region).

It is the hub of Afghan Opium trade in Helmand Province which a major opium producing state of Afghanistan. Being the economic backbone of Taliban & the major centre of the related activity it has always remained on frontlines with the NATO forces & Taliban militia, In 2007 the town was the epicentre of the famous & most fierced battles fought by ISAf & Afghan National Army popularly known as the battle of Musa Qala code named operation Sankepit by US Marines. It was one of the large scale war operation faught with Taliban Militia till now. It was also the first battle where Afghan National Army was directly involved & had fought after its formation since the fall of Taliban regime. The infrastructure is in shembles & hardly any facilities are in place for the local population.

Majority of the houses are made of mud, with domed roofs, surrounded by mud walls & rest have wooden roofs. No Sanitation & Drainage system is in place. Though the area has sufficient water resources but the Water potability is a major issue. Though wells & hand pumps are being installed & contructed by few NGOs’ working there but the situation is still not normal.

The condition of Farmlands is very poor. After the prolonged drought the soil fertility has been deteoriated. Now only 30% is cultivable where before drought it was 70%. Due the shortage of irrigated water, fertilizers, seeds the agriculture is hard to revive to a booming stage. The major crops whih can be grown & supported are Wheat, Maize, Barley & Tobacco.

Even after the US Invasion & ouster of Taliban the situation is not so different. Afghans specially needs to uderstand their rights & international community have to see the actual development being done for the welfare of the local people & where the funds are being utilised. Since its been already a long suffering of the peopl of Afghanistan. And now they cannot afford to waste their blood for no good receiving little for their own betterment. Government has to have develop a policy framework where the community can be supported on a greater scale & results can be seen in minimal time period.

The title of this post has been named so, because the people who are addicts or take drugs occasionally not only risks their lives but also destroys the trust & confidence of their family as well as challenge the very survival of the human race. So if any one who thinks he is doing it for fun & enjoyment then kindly have look at the details below:

Source: Raw opium is the dried milky juice of the opium poppy seed capsules. The juice contains the following powerful drugs: morphine (about 8-14%), narcotine ( about 2-8%), papaverine (about 0.7-3%), and thebaine (about 0.2-1%). The best-known drugs made from raw opium are heroin and morphine. Heroin is a semi-synthetic drug manufactured from morphine or opium by double acetylation. First made in 1874 and used as a very strong painkiller, it was eventually withdrawn from the market because of its habit-forming potential.

Source: Sticky, brown powder which may have red, black and green shades Hemp flowers are resinous and sticky. When the flowers are dried and have undergone an extraction process, they produce a brownish, slightly sticky powder which has the characteristic odor of hashish. The powder is often compressed into blocks. The origin of the hashish can be easily determined. Blackish hashish comes from Nepal and Afghanistan, dark hashish from Pakistan, brown hashish from Morocco, red hashish from Lebanon, and greenish/hay-colored hashish from Turkey.

Effects: Mild euphoria, a feeling of contentment

Health Problems: Agitation, Cardiovascular effects (rapid beating of the heart, changes in blood pressure), Changes in sensory perception , Conjunctivitis, Dilated pupils, Drowsiness, Irritation , Listlessness, Nausea, Psychological dependence, Self-neglect, Risk of personality changes, Loss of contact with reality. Chromosomal damage, Impotence, Temporary sterility, Development of breasts in men , Miscarriage in women, Distruption of DNA synthesis and the immune defense system in cells leading to the death of some cells. Damage to the lungs and airways, Lasting damage to the brain, since traces of THC remain there.

Source: Leaves of the coca plant. Cocaine hydrochloride (cocaine HCL, the hydrochloride salt of cocaine) is produced from the leaves of the coca plant. Prime cocaine is usually 70-85% pure, while street cocaine is usually less than 25% pure. Appearance: Fine white powder Street cocaine tends to become sticky and form clumps.It has a bitter state and acts as a topical anesthetic if applied to the oral mucous membrane for an extended period of time. Crack: Small, beige rocks. The drug usually appears as beige tablets about 2 cm in diameter, which are smooth on one side and have a notch on the other side. These tablets are not taken orally but are crushed and smoked.

Badakhshan is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, consisting of 28 districts. It is located in the north-east of the country, between the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya. It is part of the Badakhshan region. Badakhshan’s name was given by the Sassanids and derives from the word badaxš (an official Sassanian title). The suffix of the name means the region belonged to someone with the title badaxš (analogous to Azerbaijan, Isfahan, Tehran, etc.). Feyzabad is the capital of Badakshan Province. Badakhshan is primarily bordered by Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province and Khatlon Province in Tajikistan to the north and east. In the east of the province a long spur called the Wakhan Corridor extends above northern Pakistan’s Chitral and Northern Areas to a border with China. The province has a total area of 44,059 km², most of which is occupied by the Hindu Kush and Pamir mountain ranges. Badakhshan was a stopover on the ancient Silk Road trading path, and China has shown great interest in the province after the fall of the Taliban, helping to reconstruct roads and infrastructure in the province.

Economy: Despite massive mineral reserves, Badakhshan is one of the most destitute areas in the world. Opium poppy growing is the only real source of income in the province and Badakhshan has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world, due to the complete lack of health infrastructure, inaccessible locations, and bitter winters of the province. Recent geological surveys have indicated the location of other gemstone deposits, in particular rubies and emeralds.Exploitation of this mineral wealth could be key to the region’s prosperity.

Demographics: The population of the province is estimated at 823,000 people.The majority of them are Persian-speaking Tajiks. There are also

The following Pamiri languages are spoken in Badakhshan by certain populations of Tajiks:

Shughni

Munji

Ishkashimi

Wakhi

small Kyrgyz minorities

nomadic and semi-nomadic Uzbeks and Pashtuns, who migrate over long distances.

The residents of the province are largely Sunni, but many of the Tajiks who are speakers of one of the Pamiri languages in the northeastern districts of the province are Ismaili.